Is there a fire near Wau right now?
Wildfires near Wau
Updated
29 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 5 km WNW, 360 detections in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 1:00 pm local (2026-10-25 11:00 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Wau, Western Bahr al Ghazal, South Sudan, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (Africa/Juba).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 29 last 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 5 km WNW 47 km WNW of Wau
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 579 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 40 MW moderate
- Wind now
- S 21 km/h gusts 40 km/h, humidity 48%
Fires near Wau right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 579 thermal hotspots in 29 separate clusters within 80 km of Wau, Western Bahr al Ghazal, South Sudan in the last 48 h. The closest is 5 km WNW of the city centre (47 km WNW of Wau), with 360 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 40 MW, which is moderate for a single 375 m pixel.
2 clusters are within 25 km, close enough that smoke, ash or road closures may affect the city. Distances are measured from the city centre to the nearest detection, not to the fire's edge.
Across South Sudan there are 490 fire clusters in the same window, 104 of them in Western Bahr al Ghazal.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 km WNW of Wau | 5 km WNW | 360 | 40 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 30 km NE of Wau | 13 km NE | 80 | 18 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 29 km SW of Wau | 25 km SW | 7 | 15 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 33 km SE of Wau | 26 km SE | 12 | 27 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 28 km ESE of Wau | 27 km ESE | 3 | 4 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 39 km S of Wau | 36 km S | 9 | 9 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 41 km SSE of Wau | 40 km SSE | 4 | 7 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 54 km E of Wau | 43 km E | 25 | 15 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 49 km SE of Wau | 49 km SE | 1 | 3 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 54 km SSW of Wau | 53 km SSW | 4 | 9 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 57 km NNW of Wau | 57 km NNW | 4 | 8 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 70 km SSE of Wau | 58 km SSE | 12 | 9 MW | Sat 1:17 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 59 km SE of Wau | 59 km SE | 1 | 2 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 60 km S of Wau | 59 km S | 2 | 3 MW | Sat 1:17 pm | Sat 1:17 pm |
| 59 km S of Wau | 59 km S | 1 | 4 MW | Sat 1:17 pm | Sat 1:17 pm |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Wau is from the S at 21 km/h (gusts 40 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the N. Relative humidity is 48% and the temperature 29°C.
Wau is not directly downwind of the nearest fire at the moment, though winds shift and plumes from larger fires can still reach the city.
Smoke shows up first as PM2.5 on air-quality monitors; the Wau air quality page has the live reading.
Evacuations and official information
GodsView shows satellite detections only. It does not know fire perimeters, containment or evacuation zones. Always follow evacuation orders from local authorities.
The Global Wildfire Information System, GWIS (gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu), maps fire danger and burnt areas worldwide; evacuation orders come from national civil protection and local authorities.
About satellite fire detections
Satellite thermal hotspots are not all wildfires: gas flares, steel works, volcanoes and planned agricultural or prescribed burns show up too. VIIRS passes over most places about twice a day, so a fire can start or grow between passes, and thick smoke or cloud can hide one.
Fire radiative power (FRP) is the heat a fire gives off, in megawatts per pixel: under 10 MW is usually a small or smouldering fire, over 100 MW an intense flaming front.
Wildfires near other cities
More for this area
Data: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS active fires), Open-Meteo, GeoNames.